Depth Sensors

Over the past two years, HP has been entering the 3D scanning market. They started by introducing the first generation Sprout Pro all-in-one computer with built-in structured light scanner (Review). …
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It has been a while since I covered depth sensors for 3D scanning because there haven’t been interesting new ones for a while. When people ask what sensor to buy …
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Three weeks ago I posted that Bellus3D has brought their face scanning app to the iPhone X, using its internal depth sensor. I’ve yet to get my hands on an iPhone X to actually test that but I did receive the company’s external Face Camera Pro sensor that can similar face scanning abilities to Android smartphones and tablets.

Warning: since this is a basically a 3D selfie device, this posts will contain a lot of selfies of yours truly. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

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A while ago I wrote a Preview post about the Wacom MobileStudio Pro after attending the tablet’s launch event in Amsterdam. Now I’m writing my hands-on Review, after testing the highest-end version of the device for a few weeks.

Just to be clear: this is not a general Wacom MobileStudio Pro Review — there are enough of those. Instead, in this post I’m giving my opinion about the Intel RealSense R200 3D Camera that’s integrated in the 512GB versions of both the 13″ and the 16″ inch tablet and how I experienced 3D scanning with that depth sensor and various kinds of software.

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A while ago I reviewed the Structure Sensor — a great and versatile 3D scanning sensor for the iPad. Today I’m testing the 3D Systems iSense. This device is actually a re-branded Structure Sensor, produced by Occipital, but used to be sold and supported by 3D Systems. This 3D printer manufacturer has used third party sensors before. The first generation Sense for Mac and Windows (Review) was basically a PrimeSense Carmine and the currently-available Sense 2 (Review) features an Intel RealSense SR300.

The iSense has been discontinued by 3D Systems in 2016. It’s no longer sold by them directly, but resellers might still have stock. But the real good news is that you can find many unused iSense scanners at enormous discounts on Amazon and eBay — a new Structure Sensor costs $379 while I got the iSense I’m using for this review on eBay for $58 (no typo).

But does that low price mean it’s suddenly a bad device? Let’s find out!

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With 2016 coming to an end, it’s time to look back at another year. For me it was the year I decided to put my blogging and R&D focus entirely on 3D capturing technologies. Without any regrets! It’s a great journey so far and I’ve tested a lot of great hardware and software in a market that’s changing faster than many people realize.

The very first 3D scanning hardware I reviewed was 3D Systems’ first generation Sense scanner in February. Because that device was part of the consumer-focused Cubify brand that was discontinued in 2015, I didn’t expect the Sense to get a successor. But I was wrong and today I’m writing about my experience with the Sense 2 — or as 3D Systems calls it, the “Next Generation Sense”. It’s now targeted more towards professionals, but still has the consumer-friendly price tag of $399.

My review model has been kindly provided by 3D Printer and 3D Scanner store Machines 3D!

In this Review, I’ll compare the 3D Systems Sense 2 to

• It’s predecessor, the original 3D Systems Sense 3D Scanner (which I’ll refer to as Sense 1)
• The XYZ 3D Scanner, because that features the Intel RealSense F200 sensor which has been succeeded by the SR300 sensor in the Sense 2.
• The Structure Sensor, which 3D Systems also used to sell under the name iSense. This rebranded device has recently been discontinued. (I’ll refer to it as Structure Sensor)

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The most affordable 3D Scanner that works best with Software from its competitor

The 3D Scanner I’m reviewing here is made by Taiwanese 3D Printer manufacturer XYZprinting. It’s simply called the XYZprinting 3D Scanner, although the supplied software refers to it as the XYZscan Handy.

At €199 / $199 it’s probably the most affordable 3D Scanner on the market today and it’s widely available through resellers such as the Dutch 3D Printer and Scanner store 3DNINJA that kindly provided me with the review model.

It costs half as much as the first generation 3D Systems Sense I reviewed earlier. And while that device captured the geometric shape of objects in a surprisingly good way, its color capturing was completely useless due to the RGB camera with a resolution just 320 x 240 pixels.

The question of course is: can a 3D Scanner for less than $200 be any good? Let’s find out!

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If you’ve read my previous 3D Scanner Review of the 3D Systems Sense you know that I was impressed by the ease-of-use and geometric details for a device priced below €450. But the quality of the color information — or textures — the Sense captures are completely underwhelming. This has been fixed with the Sense 2 I reviewed later)

In this Review I’m testing the Structure Sensor made by a Occipital. This device was also available as the 3D Systems iSense but that rebranded version has been discontinued*.

I got my Structure Sensor from the Dutch 3D Printing and 3D Scanning Store MakerPoint.

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In this post I’ll guide you through my discoveries with the Sense 3D Scanner. It is sold by 3D Printing company 3D Systems. It used to be part of their consumer-focussed Cubify line of products that also included the Cube 3D Printer, but the complete Cubify brand has been discontinued in December 2015. I’m sure they won’t be producing new ones, nor update the software, so this review is probably the final state of the product.

The Sense retails for about €400-€450 here in the Netherlands. The question of course is: is it worth that money? And what are the advantages compared to capturing objects with a free mobile app—which I found out works really well.

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